Faith Unbound
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2
“I am so not equipped to deal with this!” “How am I supposed to work with them when I have my own work to do?!” “I just need more patience.”
Sound familiar? Reading a scripture verse that tells us we are supposed to be humble, gentle and patient probably seems unhelpful when we’re in the midst of attending to our own personal business. To tackle the latest series of attention-diverting, time-consuming changes of focus, we may first need to take a moment to center ourselves; take a deep breath and recall the steps to gaining “more patience”.
“Be humble…” Being humble is not about being meek or mild-mannered, practicing humility is about setting our own needs aside for the sake of others. It is saying, in this moment, I need to forget about myself and put this person, child, customer first.
And when I put them first, I need to be gentle and change my tone so that they hear a voice that is ready to listen.
And if I am ready to listen, then I should be patient, allowing time for emotion, a request or question, an exchange of information, possibly several repetitions or alternate approaches and hopefully a conclusion. Patience works best with humility, reminding us to stop our own tasks, thoughts, or needs to help someone else. It combines well with gentleness, reminding us that a calm and pleasant tone is received better than one that is distressed and annoyed. You can’t really be patient when your voice is saying something else.
And bearing with one another in love, because that’s the right way to do it. This child, person, customer is also made in the image of God and loved by Him and Jesus asked me to treat others the way I want to be treated. Because, if I am successful in humbly, gently and patiently communicating with another, my relationship will be stronger, my day will go better and I may even get back to my own business quicker.
Dear friends, we are equipped for challenges like this and many others. The Holy Spirit provides these fruits so that we can be a resource to each other.
Dear Lord, you have given me your love and grace. Thank you for giving me gifts that make me a better person. Help me remember to use these gifts with regular, intentional practice so that I can avoid the trappings of selfishness and sin. I pray this in Your holy name. Amen.